Though I support a married priesthood and lay buddhism, I was surprised at myself for forgetting this modern monastic movement founded in the Nichiren tradition. Has anyone visited their peace pagodas? Do they monks and nuns take dharmagupta vows as well as bodhisattva vows? gassho Rory

rory wrote:Though I support a married priesthood and lay buddhism, I was surprised at myself for forgetting this modern monastic movement founded in the Nichiren tradition. Has anyone visited their peace pagodas? Do they monks and nuns take dharmagupta vows as well as bodhisattva vows? gassho Rory

They have stupas in Leh, Sarnath, Kushinagar and at Vulture's peak. Possibly one of the Japanese temples at Bodhgaya is associated with them, but I don't recall for sure. Shanti Stupa in Leh, where I stayed last year, was initially under their banner, but is now independent from them for all intents and purposes.

Nichidatsu Fujii was the iconic figurehead of the movement. As I was told they had this strange idea that Japan's surprising economic growth at the time somehow validated claims of Japanese Buddhism's superiority, though in recent years they have apparently run out of steam (like the Japanese economy). They believed that the "people of the sun" could bring back Buddhadharma to the "people of the moon" (i.e., Indians).

Huseng; I think you are referring to the idea, that if the country is doing well it is due to following the correct Dharma. This was a central tenent of Nichiren's Rissho Ankoku Ron, and of course in their own fashion common one to mainstream Tendai and Shingon of his day. All those esoteric ceremonies were for the peace and prosperity of the country. Nothing odd about that at all.

Today, from a Nichiren pov, Japan's problems are due to hobo maligning the Dharma, the Lotus Sutra, principally via Sokka Gakkai & their neo-buddhist prosperity sect.

Can you tell me what were the monk's practices? Did he study the Lotus Sutra, Tendai philosophy? What kind of vows do they take?so nice to here from you, are you still in India?gasshoRory

rory wrote:Huseng; I think you are referring to the idea, that if the country is doing well it is due to following the correct Dharma. This was a central tenent of Nichiren's Rissho Ankoku Ron, and of course in their own fashion common one to mainstream Tendai and Shingon of his day. All those esoteric ceremonies were for the peace and prosperity of the country. Nothing odd about that at all.

Today, from a Nichiren pov, Japan's problems are due to hobo maligning the Dharma, the Lotus Sutra, principally via Sokka Gakkai & their neo-buddhist prosperity sect.

Well, Japan wasn't following the correct Dharma in the 70's and 80's. They had a number of catastrophic environmental disasters that resulted in countless people becoming ill, permanently disabled or dead. They also forced the population into working tooth and nail, resulting in increased suicide rates and a completely stressed out working population that needed a nightly fix of booze just to stay afloat. Meanwhile most Buddhist institutions ceased being religious and instead transformed into commercial operations.

Japan had economic prosperity, but it wasn't because anyone was doing rites for the nation's benefit or practicing Dharma. It was due to the powers that be with American backing pushing industry and people into suicidal levels of productivity.

rory wrote:Huseng; I think you are referring to the idea, that if the country is doing well it is due to following the correct Dharma. This was a central tenent of Nichiren's Rissho Ankoku Ron, and of course in their own fashion common one to mainstream Tendai and Shingon of his day.

But when Nichidatsu Fujii was trying to change the course of Japan in the 30's, resulting in his exile to India, Japan seemed on top of the world. Invincible even.

Exactly Kirtu; my sensei's spiritual sensei Rev. Nissho Honda was instrumental in the early part of the 20th century in uniting the Nichiren sects, promoting Nichren Buddhism. He was against militarism and the war with the U.S. and died in the mid-thirties.http://www.kempon.net/Honda%20Nissho.htm

By the 1930's with the drive for miltarist Shintoism the Nichiren groups started enshrining and worshipping Shinto deities. Bad move & the rest is according to what Nichiren wrote in Rissho Ankoku Ron; disasters for the nation.

Drumming and chanting Daimoku is classic Nichiren Buddhism. My sensei Rev. Tsuchiya does exactly the same yearly when he visits Cambodia and India, spreading the Dharma. The ideal is by spreading the true Dharma, the country will also benefit. with gasshoRory

rory wrote:Huseng; I think you are referring to the idea, that if the country is doing well it is due to following the correct Dharma. This was a central tenent of Nichiren's Rissho Ankoku Ron, and of course in their own fashion common one to mainstream Tendai and Shingon of his day.

But when Nichidatsu Fujii was trying to change the course of Japan in the 30's, resulting in his exile to India, Japan seemed on top of the world. Invincible even.

Kirt

Right, but the post-war recovery probably factored into the idea amongst Japanese Buddhists that Japan's economic success somehow vindicated their traditions.

King Ashoka and Buddhism worked quite well. The problem with Japan was that the government didn't put Buddhism first, rather Buddhism and the Buddhist clerics served the government. There is no problem with nationalism and Buddhism when Buddhism comes first, then the nation's actions will be like that of King Ashoka, remember all the mentions of Cakravartins, wheel-turning kings, this is a very Buddhist ideal.gasshorory

rory wrote:King Ashoka and Buddhism worked quite well. The problem with Japan was that the government didn't put Buddhism first, rather Buddhism and the Buddhist clerics served the government. There is no problem with nationalism and Buddhism when Buddhism comes first, then the nation's actions will be like that of King Ashoka, remember all the mentions of Cakravartins, wheel-turning kings, this is a very Buddhist ideal.gasshorory

But nationalism is different from royal patronage.

Nationalism is a modern way of forming an ideology, distinct from feudalism or multiculturalism. I don't think Ashoka promoted nationalism. He was king, but king of numerous cultures which didn't necessarily have a common identity other than having Ashoka as their ruler.

Also we don't know for certain all the details about Ashoka. On one hand, he might have promoted Buddhism, but history doesn't tell the whole story.